May 5, 2023
South Lake High School Girls Softball Team Win Back To Back District Championships!
By Kyle Coppola
South Lake High School Girls Softball Team Win Back To Back District Championships!
Last year the Eagles were dominant. They won the District Championship and finished the season 19-12 overall. This season the Lady Eagles replicated that success as they have won back to back championships defeating Lake Minneola by a score of 5-1.
South Lake has a history of getting out to early leads and that is exactly what the Lady Eagles did scoring 2 runs in the bottom of the first inning. The pitching was great all season but tonight it was a true showcase of talent. During the 3rd inning the Eagles would score 2 more runs, they would add another in the 5th inning. By this point Lake Minneola knew they were in a tough situation and the team attempted to rally late.
(The Lady Eagles celebrate back to back District Championships having won in 2022 and repeat this season!)
The Lady Hawks did get on the board in the 6th inning to cut the lead to 4 runs but by that time it was too late to mount a comeback and the Lady Eagles captured the 6A District 9 Championship for the second year in a row. The Eagles are coached by Kahley Armstrong and she got the most out of her girls on this particular night. Assistant Coaches Jason Jones and Michael Armstrong have encouraged the team all year long and tonight they put everything together.
Junior Destiny Johns has had an amazing impact all season long. She boasts a .350 Batting Average which leads the team. Johns also leads the team in hits. Meanwhile Senior Payton Parkes led the team in RBI’s. Senior Jordyn Lillis and Junior Jessica Merk are tied for the team lead for runs scored.
(Payton Parkes is one of the standout players for the Eagles this season and has committed to Lake Sumter State College.)
All season long Senior pitchers Alanna O’Brian and Samantha Hudson were terrific. They pitched lights out at the tail end of the season. Each pitcher had around a 2.46 ERA. The two are almost a carbon copy of one another with nearly the same amount of strikeouts on the year. O’Brien has 44 strikeouts while Hudson has 45. The pitching will be something to watch for as the FHSAA Tournament arrives.
This is a huge accomplishment for the Lady Eagles. It’s one thing to win a District Championship but to win one two years in a row is a massive accomplishment. At times the season was not pretty by any means but the team rallied late and beat a familiar rival Lake Minneola to get an automatic berth into the Regionals! It is worth noting that Lake Minneola did make the FHSAA playoffs barely as an 8 seed and will take on Bartow next Thursday at 7pm.
South Lake will now have some time off to rest before they take on George Jenkins next Thursday at South Lake High School against George Jenkins. South Lake is listed as the 4 seed in their region of the bracket. George Jenkins is the 5 seed. The winner will take on either Bartow or Lake Minneola in the Regional Semifinals.
Congratulations to the Lady Eagles for winning back to back District Championships! Best of luck in the playoffs!
Kyle Coppola was born in Newton, Massachusetts and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Communications from Curry College in 2016. After traveling to Florida on a family vacation, he decided he could not get enough of the warm weather and made the move from snowy Massachusetts to central Florida 8 years ago.
For the last decade Kyle has gained valuable experience in social media content creation, marketing and sales, writing, video production, sports announcing and even broadcasting for local radio stations, such as FM 102.9 in The Villages and FM 91.5 in Massachusetts. Every year he volunteers at The Villages Charter High School as a play-by-play sports announcer for the football games as well as a public address announcer for the basketball games, including the annual Battle at The Villages Tournament.
Outside the office Kyle is a husband and father to two beautiful girls along with their cat. In his spare time he likes to spend time with his family, travel, play golf and swim. He is also a huge sports junkie and even bigger motorsports fan and loves to attend racing events when he can.
